There Were Five
by Tishie
Summary: Now freshmen at high school and with completely new identities, how can our five protagonists weave through a web of drama, angst and suffocating relationships? Will their newfound friendships renew their memories of childhood's past and revert them back to the 'KND', or will they cross new boundaries of life as they explore the next stage of their youth?
1. Chapter 1

And then there were five.

One was a student council president at the age of 16. That's the youngest a student has ever been at the top position in the student council. He constantly wore black sunglasses that concealed dark gray eyes and a fierce gaze, arousing student suspicions. People haven't met a true obsessive-compulsive workaholic until they see "One" in action.

Two, the biggest geek in Warburton High history, was also voted "Most likely to rule the world at age 16". A genius engineer through and through, his prodigy-level knowledge is only sparked by the fires of imagination, comic books and the occasional chili dog. Other times, he's an ordinary teenaged boy who loved video games and tinkering with robotics and machinery.

Three's smile comes second to none; especially since she's been the poster girl for every rainbow monkey "teen line" commercial known to man. Her enthusiasm, beauty and athleticism also gave her the title of the youngest cheerleader ever drafted by the esteemed Warburton Pep Club.

Four had a six-pack. That's usually what all the starry-eyed teenaged girls need to know for them to melt every time he walks by. Seemingly aloof but also brimming with masculine pride, he knew he was the talk of the locker room. Four was fought over by several sports teams but has decided on rugby, a sport the Australians are famous for.

Five, jerked to the beat of hip hop and electropop with confidence in every twist and flick of the hips. Her cool demeanor only fed the flames of her growing popularity with the older teens, and then some. Oh, and did I fail to mention that she's also a member of an international student league that deals with disadvantaged kids?

So there were five indeed. And none of them knew one another, not until that fateful day.

That first day of High school.

* * *

'...Hello?'

Abby Lincoln entered an area her social circle was usually disgusted to even think about. The blue walls were plastered with posters of robo-competitions and engineering workshops. The floors were sprinkled with various scrap parts, metal bolts and screws. While typically filled with classified "nerds" and "geeks", this particular club room, found itself housing only one.

'-May I help you? This is a long way from your turf' A boy with messy brown hair responded, his bespectacled gaze glued onto a particularly large aeronautical model. Five chucked at his comment, impressed at how much he can observe without breaking concentration.

'Abby was told that someone in here could fix my boombox... Hoagie Giligum, I think it was'

'Giligan! It's GILI-GAN. For crying out lou-'

Hoagie swears he felt his jaw touch the ground when he saw the chiseled dancer's stomach in front of him, tight and slender like a firm piece of fruit. He felt his cheeks burn hot and started to sweat like the awkward guy he is.

'Abby apologizes for the mistake, but I really really need this boombox repaired as soon as possible. Ya think you can do that, champ?'

*Thud!* The hunk of heavy metal was placed on his counter without any sort of difficulty from Five. He looked at the thing as if it was an ancient relic, amazed at the sheer number of knobs and buttons a single music player can have.

'Well... I see this is a rather 'old' model. Are you sure there are still cassettes out there for this thing to play?'

'So this guy's got jokes. And I thought everyone in here just studies and plays those nerdy card games all day. The name's Abby Lincoln; and yes that boombox there still has plenty of bullets to shoot. How fast can ya fix it?'

'Slow down, Ms. Lincoln. I don't do things like this, even if you are easy on the eyes. You gotta trade me something'

'Abby's got no cards or nothing, foo'. But... There is something ya might be interested in' She fished her baggy pants' pockets for something, sparking the curiosity of the teenaged boy.

'Ah, found it!' The dark-skinned hand placed what appeared to be a ticket on the counter next to the boombox. Hoagie leaned over to check out what it was.

'...A VIP ticket to the "Hip Hop Dance Showdown" next weekend?'

'Hey, it might not look like much but Abby will be competing in the this year's dance competition… which sold out 3 hours after they released the tickets. You can probably sell that for a hundred, at the very least.'

The brunette cleared his throat and fixed his yellow specs. 'Well... What if I wanted to go?'

* * *

Three, fresh from a haircut that took three-fourths of her raven locks off, had a skip in her step. She had dimples that accompanied the sweetest smile a girl could have, eliciting unbroken gazes by all sorts of guys as she passed by the lockers. Around her shoulder was the arm of a 17-year old boy named Ace. The literal "ace" of the baseball league and the youngest son from a family of famous military pilots, he beamed with pride as he strut across the hallowed halls of Warburton High like a plane through clear skies.

'Hey Ace and Kuki! Catch you later at the house party i'm having? It'll be off the hook!'

'We'll be there. Don't you worry, Cindy.' Ace winked at the hopeful teen as he walked by, not even stopping to continue the exchange any further. Three could hear the young girl giggle as she passed her.

'Hey Ace, who's Cindy? Why would she know me? I'm not even a Sophomore yet!' Three girlishly asked, raising a hand to her chin.

'Relax, my little rainbow monkey! She's a friend from Biology class. She's just really desperate to be "in" with the cool crowd, so she's begging us to attend her party later.'

'Cool crowd? Are you saying we're "in" with the cool crowd? How come i've never met any of them?'

'Shh... Quiet Kuki. I'll just have a chat with the captain, Chad. You stay beside me and look cute, alright? I need to show you off a bit until he recognizes you're from a commercial'

Irked by the comment, a vein could be seen on Kuki's forehead as she said,

'...Stand here? Why would I-'

'I want a better locker so I need to make him see i'm worth it, okay? Now SHH!'

Full of irritation, she stomped away unbeknownst to her boyfriend, who continued to chat with his team captain. Little did she know that a student was rushing by as she stormed off, knocking her down on the floor in the process.

Eliciting gasps from nearby students, the culprit of the crime was flustered with embarrassment and shame, as he realized he had just knocked down the youngest and not to mention, most popular cheerleader on the squad. He apologized profusely but failed to help her up, too dismayed and shocked at what had just happened to budge.

Everyone else felt too unpopular to assist, and started to talk amongst themselves as they eyed the now-surrounded Kuki Sanban.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a muscular boy dressed in Warburton High's rugby team uniform offered his hand to her.

'Now why isn't anyone helping ya out? Did you just drop a faht bomb or something?'

'What? A fart bomb? I would never!' She blinked in surprise and irritation as she regretfully accepted the stranger's helping hand. As Three slowly rose, Four observed her tauntingly slim figure and apparent love of the color, dark green. His cheeks started to heat up as he took in the minor details of the girl's face; feeling a strange sense of familiarity as he watched her fix herself up from the fall.

The students that surrounded them eventually dispersed upon lack of anything more interesting to gawk at. The newfound pair of teenagers moved to a less frequented spot in the hallway and continued their conversation.

'Thanks a lot for helping, especially when no one else did... Mr...?'

'Beatles. Wallabee Beatles. But- err... Call me Wally.'

'...Wally. Have I... Met you, somewhere?'

'I don't think you've met me, but I think I've seen you somewhere before...'

'Haha. I get that a lot.' Kuki cleared her throat and changed her voice a bit as she exclaimed with a perfectly trained sing-song voice, 'Get the new Rainbow Monkeys camera app! Complete with stickers, filters and of course, friendship and LOVE!'

'-Oh yeah! You're that gal from that weird Rainbow Monkeys commercial! No wonder I've heard your voice before! I always change the channel when it comes on'

'Hey! That's not very nice! ...Even so, you helped me up so... thanks, Wally.' Before he could even think to protest, Kuki gave him the warmest embrace he's ever received. After what felt like forever, he pried her arms off with all the strength his rugby-chiseled arms could muster and was finally set free from her grasp, revealing a tomato-red face.

'Hey, why are you so red, Wally? Were you actually the one sick with the farts?'

'Don't push yer luck, girly. Just because I helped you up, doesn't mean you can talk to me like that! I am a member of the rugby team, after all. '

Confident at his jab to impress her, Wally smirked as he exclaimed this fact. Kuki giggled and took a few steps back.

'My name's Kuki. Kuki Sanban. Nice to meet you too, fart-face,rugby-boy, Beatles!'

'Hey! You take that ba-'

'Kuki! Where have you been? And why are you talking to him?'

Ace rushed to Kuki's side, agitated by her sudden disappearance and apparent disinterest upon his arrival. 'Oh come on, Ace. You didn't even see me get knocked over by some guy? No one helped me until Wally showed up! I owe him my thanks!'

Four, completely fazed by seeing that she had a boyfriend, shook his head and decided to stare downward to avoid his gaze. Picking up on this, the guy in question smirked and raised his arm to place around his girlfriend's shoulders.

'Oh is that so? Hey thanks for helping my girlfriend out, Wally. Now if you don't mind- we're off to class...'

Just as Ace was about to steer them away, Kuki pulled back from his grasp. 'Ace, silly! You study all the way across the other side of the school, remember? You're a different class, heck, a different year from me even!'

Three giggled and waved goodbye as Ace begrudgingly walked away from his girlfriend in defeat. As soon as she lost sight of him, she relaxed her shoulders and sighed in relief.

'I can't believe he was more jealous of you than worried of the fact that I was knocked over. Can you believe that guy?'

'...Believe he's a douchebag? Yes. What I can't believe is you're actually dating a guy like him-' Before he could finish his sentence, a frightfully intense girl with bright red hair and freckles approached them.

'Wally, sweethart, WHAT THE HECK ARE YA DOING 'ERE? WE HAVE CLASS, YOU BUFFOON!'

Both Wally and Kuki froze from shock when they heard this frantic girl scream from across the hall. Three whispered a question to the frightened boy, a slight irritation running through her mind.

'Sweet... Heart? You're dating frantic Franny?'

'...She kind of convinced herself she was dating me ever since my dad was re-assigned to be her father's assistant... It's a long story'


	2. Chapter 2

' _...A VIP ticket to the_ _"_ _Hip Hop Dance Showdown_ _"_ _next weekend?_ _'_

' _Hey, it might not look like much but Abby will be competing in the this year_ _'_ _s dance competition_ _…_ _which sold out 3 hours after they released the tickets. You can probably sell that for a hundred, at the very least._ _'_

 _The brunette cleared his throat and fixed his yellow specs._ _'_ _Well... What if I wanted to go?_ _'_

'Abby finds no problem with you watching, although I only have one ticket so your girlfriend will have to-'

'Oh, this might surprise you but I don't have a girlfriend.'

Five chuckled. She was sure the only reason for him to want to go is to take a girl out to see the show. They continued their conversation as she hopped onto a refurbished chair made of old computers and pillows.

'Really? I thought your type wouldn't be interested' She fiddled with a couple of toys as he started inspecting her boombox for repair. It was strange... she felt quite comfortable in an in an otherwise, very alien, atmosphere. 'Maybe it's him?' She thought.

'Give us nerds a break, why dont'cha? We can very well be the life of the party, but no one gets to know that because we're hardly invited!' Grabbing his handy-dandy screw driver, he starts tinkering with the main cover, then carefully placed the screws into a compartmentalized case.

'Really? I had no idea! All ya had to do was ask. You do seem like you can actually survive a legit house party.' Five observed her new friend tinker away. She was quite amazed at herself for being so calm about the fact that someone was basically doing surgery on her beloved boombox.

'Hey, Abby? May I ask why you carry this relic around when you could easily use bluetooth speakers for your rehearsals? I mean it's just outright impractical.' He scratches his head as he tries to decipher this "ancient" technology.

'This here boombox... Means a lot to me. It belonged to my older sister, who was once the best dancer there was in this town... That is, until she left for law school all the way in Harvard. She never played it since.'

Hoagie stopped unscrewing a bolt as he heard her story. 'I see... So it really means a lot to you, huh?'

'It's a pain to have to scout for old cassettes and re-record my tracks, but I feel like I dance way better when I use this old thang' She taps it lightly with her hand and sighs.

'...So, as long as it's this boombox right? You wouldn't mind if I fixed it up for you?'

'What does Hoagie mean by, Fixin?'

* * *

'WALLABEE! Why are ya gawkin' at me like yer stuck to the damn floor!'

'I'll talk to ya later... Bye'

Four rushed to Franny's side like a frantic duckling towards its mother. Three watched on as they exchanged a mishmash of excuses followed by a smack on Wally's head.

Kuki started to overhear some whispers around her. 'Isn't that the daughter of Mr. Boss?'

'Yeah. But all the money in the world wouldn't make me go out with someone like her'

'Why would Beatles even consider dating her? It's such a bad combination!'

'You tell me. He looks absolutely whipped, and he'd usually never let anyone speak to him that way'

Resolved to simply ignore the drama and head straight to class, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness wash down her body as she passed the squabbling couple. As she did, Wally trailed her disappearing silhouette at the corner of his eye, spotting a rather strange plush on the floor.

'Well, I've said my piece and i'm afraid that Algebra class will start in 5 minutes. You better have remembered everything i've said to you, Wally. Hmph!' Tipping her nose as high as she can, Franny twisted her heels and walked away, leaving a very irritated and silent Four alone in the hallway.

To his relief, the halls were almost empty. After a quick scan of the premises, he walked over to the peculiar item Three left behind and picked it up carefully.

'Now what do we have here? ...A rainbow monkey keychain? Why am I not surprised...' He smiled and pocketed the little plush like a newfound lucky penny. He inwardly smiled and headed to class. Thanks to that little monkey, he realized he had a reason to see her again.

* * *

'What does Hoagie mean by, Fixin?'

Abigail repeated her question, suddenly nervous about Hoagie's idea of what 'fixing' is.

'You better not turn that thang into a rocket or something, ya hear? I like that it's only function is playing music, alright?'

'Hold onto your dancing shoes, Abby, because this baby's gonna bust out tunes like nothing else you've ever heard!'

'You sound like some 80's toy commercial or something. Come on, Hoagie let me take a look!'

Five tried to angle her body in a way that she might be able to spot whatever Two's doing behind the counter, but there was no way she could see anything behind her boombox. Defeated, she slumped back onto her seat and tapped her fingers on the table in anticipation.

'Hey, which reminds me... Don't you have class, Hoagie? It's the first day after all'

'I actually don't, because my accelerated classes don't start until noon. And you?' With a flick of his wrench, various parts of the mechanism detached and fell on the floor, breaking Abby's composure ever so slightly. With a heavy heart, she decided to ignore it and trust him.

'Well Abby informed the school that i'll be participating in a dance competition next weekend so they gave me leeway to practice. Besides, s'not like the first week of school really matters. The teachers just usually give awkward introductions and lets you in on crap that they don't really cover for the rest of the year' She decided to flip open an issue of Young Inventors to pass the time. Hoagie continued their conversation.

'I know, right? They should just completely disregard the first week of school, go straight to the lectures. Besides, I hate the whole introduce yourselves one by one and tell us a an interesting fact about yourself, bit. It's so elementary if you ask me' Two walked away from his patient and got something from a case. It looked like a large metal box. With a little more tinkering here and there, he slowly slid the contraption inside the boombox and closed the hatch.

'Well then, since you won't be having that in class today, why don't we do it here, Hoagie?' Abby chuckled and leaned back into her seat, slightly amused by how casual they've immediately gotten.

'An introduction? Ugh... Fine. This'll take a couple more minutes so...' Two cleared his throat and stood up straight. 'I'm Hoagie P. Giligan, class V, with a couple of A.P. classes here and there' He took a breath, and continued. 'I love Yipper cards, video games, sci-fi, inventing and uploading my new discoveries on YouTube. I also love everything funny and of course, I enjoy the company of pretty girls'

He wiggled his eyebrows at the last bit, eliciting a whole-hearted guffaw from Abigail. She pat his shoulder after the fit of laughter, and wiped a small tear forming at the edge of her eye.

'That's way too good. You've got swag, Hoagie. But don't let it get to your head, ok, champ?'

'Hey! I actually wrote that introduction last night before going to bed! Are you saying it's too straightforward? Should I leave the bit about pretty girls out?'

'No no, it's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Just... Easy on the delivery, you know what I mean? Make it sound like...'

'Like...?'

'Hey. I'm Abigail Lincoln, Abby for short. Abby likes to dance. Thank you.'

'...But that's like, hardly anything to work with!'

'Exactly! Don't sound too eager or they'll think you're desperate for friends! Trust me.'

Hoagie rolls his bespectacled eyes and decided to finish up the hunk of metal in front of him. 'Well, to each his own I guess. Your intro matches your image'

'...And what kind of image am I giving off?'

'You're pretty cool, Abby.'

Hoagie paused his tinkering to give her a smile. Five was actually taken aback as she felt her cheeks burn up for the first time in years. She cleared her throat and looked away, flustered.

'Yeah, well you're not too bad yourself... For a nerd that is'

* * *

'Room 3-4… Where could that be?' Kuki wandered through the nearly empty halls of Warburton high. That little incident took up most of her "classroom hunting" time, so she had to speed it up.

'Hey, can ya tell me where room 3-4 is, kid?'

'Uhm… I'm a senior…'

Suddenly, from about a mile away, Three could hear a familiar Australian's voice. Hearing that he had the same room as her felt like the sun shining after an overcast day. Why so? Well, she wasn't so sure herself.

'Wally! You have Biology class next?' She asked, allowing the smaller "senior" student to escape the jock. His eyes were completely locked on Three, making him blush once more.

'I… Er… Yeah. D'ya know where room 3-4 might be?'

'I'm looking for the same room! Let's look together!'

She gently held his wrist and started leading him around the halls. Both of them felt that this was oddly natural, as he allowed himself to walk behind her, not paying attention to the room hunting. Unfortunately, she noticed.

'Wally… We won't get anywhere with you staring at the back of my head! Look around!'

His heart skipped a beat as he caught himself slipping into a lovestruck daze. Shaking his head to snap him back into reality, Four started looking around the premises for that god forsaken class room.

'Ah! There it is' He exclaimed, as he shifted the grip of their hands. He was no holding onto her.

...and she really liked it.

Again, it felt familiar.

'W-wally! How'd you see it from a mile away? Are you sure? She stopped before entering, feeling kind of nervous knowing they were both late.

'Come on then, we found it already! Let's just get it over with'

Once they opened the door, the loud classroom chatter hushed a bit. Looking around, they were relieved to find out the teacher hasn't arrived yet.

'H-hey Wally. There're two chairs at the back… Let's go'

Nothing makes Wallabee Beatles happier than situating himself at the rear end of any academic institution. Better chances of catching some Z's without getting caught!

'Puhfect for sleepin! Good eye.'

As they entered the room, the surrounding students eyed them curiously.

'She's a freshman cheerleader, right? Kuki Sanban, is it?'

'Figures. She nabbed that rugby player clean off Franny's claws!'

Three simply rolled her eyes as she heard tidbits of gossip she couldn't care less about. If it's one thing she hates the most, it's presumptuous gossip… And candy stains on her precious rainbow monkeys, of course.

As Wally took a seat beside Three, a couple of girls surrounded his table, blocking him from view.

A slender brunette started the conversation, followed by a chorus of her less attractive followers.

'Hey! What's your name? I'm Stacy and this is Rin and Elli' She batted her lashes that were covered in clumsily-applied mascara.

'Beatles. What's it to ya?' It irked her that it appeared that he was barely interested in what she had to say.

'I love that band! Are you related to any of them?'

'What are ya talkin' about?' He scuffed his hair in irritation, especially since they seem to want to take their sweet time interrogating him.

'So anyway… I hear Cindy Phillips is hosting a house party later tonight. Wanna come with?'

Kuki's eyes twitched upon hearing the "p" word. She didn't even know if she herself wanted to go yet. She figured Ace will be there, so it was obligatory for her to come.

'I dunno. If there's free grub, I guess.'

'Great! Shall you pick us up around seven PM?'

'Hold on a sec, who said i'll be going with you three?'

'But I thought-'

Suddenly, the Biology teacher stepped in, wearing a wrinkled lab coat while struggling to hold a hot cup of coffee. 'S-sorry i'm late. The toilets were not cooperating this morning…'

* * *

'Aaaand it's all done! Give it a spin'

Hoagie turned the hunk of metal around, quite proud of his finished upgrade.

'I installed bluetooth compatibility, so you can connect your gadgets now. I also took out unnecessary parts and replaced them with lighter alternatives, but don't worry, you can still play your old cassettes. I improved the sound quality as well, but you can press this to add a retro filter in the music and-'

Two heard a *click* sound, followed by "Hotline Bling" by Drake. He cleared his throat and slowly directed his eyes towards the girl in front of him, who seemed to suddenly morph into a different person as she swayed her hips left and right.

She swayed her arms like a glitching computer program, with pauses and jitters that were so precise to each beat. She rotated her hips along with her head, making Two's heart flutter as she explored the limits of her body's flexibility.

About three minutes into her routine, she suddenly stopped dancing. 'Someone's comin' she said, as she swiftly got her boombox and slipped the ticket into Hoagie's pocket.

'Thanks a lot. See you 'round, Hoagie Gilligan' With a wink and a tip of her red hat, Abby left the young teenager within the blue walls of the club. Not long after, a member came in through the doors. 'Hey Hoagie! I saw someone leave just now… What did I miss?'

'Uh… S-someone just got into the wrong room.'

* * *

When the bell rang, everyone got off their seats and started rushing to their next class. Three and Four opted to stay for some unknown but slightly obvious reason.

'So…' He started, his face in almost every shade of red. 'I.. Er.. Next class…'

She took that as a que to walk alongside him as they left the room.

'I've got English class next, and you?'

'Damn. I've got Math. So this is goodbye then'

'You'll be at the party though, right Wally?'

'Y-yeah but.. I'll be with someone, I guess…'

'Oh.'

Memories of Franny smacking Wally on the head started flooding her mind as she giggled.

'Hey! Why're you laughin?'

'Oh uhm.. I just.. You and Franny..'

Before she could continue, she felt Ace's hand on her shoulder. She sighed and looked away from Wally's green eyes.

'There you are my sweet chocolate chip Kuki! How was your first cla- Oh. It's you.'

'What's that supposed ta mean?' With anger dripping from his voice, Wally glared right into Ace's bespectacled eyes. 'Well I didn't think i'd run into you again. Are you both classmates?'

'Yeah. Well, i've got to go. Bye Kuki'

Three gave a faint wave before walking towards her next class. Ace paused for a moment to observe Wally leave, ultimately deciding roughing up a rugby player isn't the smartest thing to do right now.

'Ey, Kuki! I don't want you to see that guy anymore, you hear me?'

'What? He's my classmate! That's impossible!'

'Fine, just don't talk to him.'

'Since when do you get to decide who I get to talk to?'

Ace cornered her somewhere in the hallway. A couple of girls squealed in delight when they saw this, thinking it was super smooth. Kuki thought the opposite.

'Since I became your boyfriend, babe.'

Ace started leaning towards her and puckered up. Just as he was about to land a kiss, Kuki elbowed him in the gut. 'Oops! My elbow slipped.'

Rolling her eyes, Three fled to her next class, unaware of the crowd that witnessed the awkward exchange.

The day progressed into a mishmash of awkward moments comprised of new friendships and club sign ups. It also involved classifying each other into different social classes, like finding where you fit into the puzzle.


End file.
